The Rebirth of the Deceived
by DatWritaDude
Summary: Awakening inside of a mysterious laboratory, the former leader of the Jackal Squad questions his surroundings and what exactly happened to himself and his squadron. Those inquiries are answered and he uncovers unexpected results about their grim fate.
1. Awaken Infinite!

Authorz Note:

Sup mah fellow readerz? How youz doing? Been awhile, huh?

If you haven't read the statuz update on my previous story, please read it if you want to know why I was absent for so long and what I plan on writing about next. Hopefully that will answer any questions you may have.

Before we begin, I'd like to give some shout outs to two people that took the time to read my story and even favorite, follow, and review it! Those two would be singsong182 and Zoggerific. I appreciate the feedback from you twoz!

Anyway, here is the latest story that I promised to showcase. It is my attempt at remaking the Sonic Forces villain, Infinite's, origin. Here you'll see how I envision him meeting Dr. Eggman and his backstory as to how he gained the identity of 'Infinite'.

From here to the next couple of chapters, I won't be writing much for the authorz note, so you don't have to deal with my annoying... You know what. I wanna keep it PG for dis thang. Anyway, I'll let youz read and I hope you enjoy my attempt at Infinite's rebirth.

* * *

Aboard the large airship known as the Egg Carrier, within the laboratory section of the vessel, lies the evil nemesis to the world renowned hero, Sonic the Hedgehog.

The mad scientist himself, Dr. Eggman.

The crazed villain is currently typing away important information onto his computer, which is connected to a pod that has a body of what appears to be... A heavily wounded creature.

It may seem peculiar to some that he would have such a random being in his possession, but to this mustached maniac... It's a brilliant new scheme he plans to take full advantage of to finally defeat a certain blue pest that has been causing him nothing but trouble all these years later.

Eggman: "Hehehe!"

The evil scientist smirks as he types away codes into his computer in order to compete his 'project'.

Eggman: "Oh, beloved grandfather. It may have been unleashed nearly two decades ago, but the potential that Project Shadow had was ABSOLUTELY impeccable. A being capable of harnessing PURE CHAOS ENERGY all on its' own? With the use of only ONE Chaos Emerald? That is something that will never be seen again. It's such a shame that, that fool developed a conscious and decided to save this world instead of staying true to our deal in helping me conquer it! Oh well. At least you had bad intentions in mind..."

Orbot and Cubot enter the laboratory. Cubot's acting like a complete fool, as always.

Orbot: "Um, sir? We couldn't help but overhear your monologuing. Wasn't Shadow created to help others? And didn't you help Sonic and him save the world that one time?"

The sadistic doctor grits his teeth at his own creation's questioning. How dare that foolish robot bring up irrelevant moments from the past?

That was then, this is NOW!

Cubot: "And didn't you end up sending a robot to rescue that guy from burning up in the atmosphere and plummeting down to Earth? Man, for an evil scientist that sure was-"

The annoyed genius has had enough of his pawn's insolence and slams his fist down.

Eggman: "GRRRR, SILENCE YOU IRRITATING BUCKET OF BOLTS! AN INTELLECTUAL GENIUS SUCH AS MYSELF ADJUSTS WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES!"

The floating robots back away from their master to avoid further outbreaks from him. Had they persisted with their points, the situation could've turned... VERY ugly. Not just in a verbal sense either.

Orbot: "Y-Yes, of course."

The red android looks over to his yellow companion, terrified.

Cubot: "Someone didn't drink their coffee this morning."

The yellow android remarks with sarcasm.

The big boss sure gets grumpy when he's told things he doesn't want to hear. It's best to just listen to what he has to say and ask questions... Well, never.

Eggman: "This brand new creation... Or rebirth, I should say, will have no such errors..."

He patiently waits for his computer to accept those codes inputted a few moments ago.

Eggman: "I've outfitted this pod you see in front of you with a very special purple liquid that I found submerged with the newest gem to my collection. This brand new chemical acts as a source of energy for said gem, constantly 'charging' it, so to speak. With that in mind, it will help stabilize not only its power, but the new 'controller' of the gem as well. Hm... There was something else I had to say as well."

The doctor brushes his mustache with his hand, as he momentarily forgets what else he wanted to mention.

It's coming back to him... It's on the tip of his tongue.

And...

Eggman: "Oh, and due to the connection between the two, the controller is also fed with the same liquid used for the gem. Only while in the pod, of course."

The two robots are absolutely baffled as to what has just been explained to them.

The process seems to be very in depth for something that only needed a few codes implemented into a computer.

Then again, Orbot and Cubot haven't witnessed EVERY step to this project so they aren't up to date with everything.

Eggman: "Ah yes, here we go."

The download is complete and the liquid inside of the pod begins to turn a darker purple.

Eggman: "So, using the resources I have at hand, along with the body of the only Jackal that survived the attack from Sonic and his pesky friends, I will finally exact my revenge on those rodents! And wipe them all from existence! Once and for all! Ohohohoho!"

Orbot hides behind another pod while Cubot hides behind him.

Orbot: "For someone that has done worse in the past, he seems to... Really mean business this time around. More so than usual."

Cubot nods his head in agreement, still cowering in fear behind his friend.

Cubot: "I don't know if I like the boss being all 'business-y'! More so than usual!"

Dr. Eggman laughs maniacally as he places his hand on a lever compatible with the pod.

Eggman: "Hehehe! Behold fools! My greatest weapon yet! THE NEW AND VASTLY IMPROVED ULTIMATE LIFEFORM!"

He brings the lever down and the liquid inside of the pod seemingly 'absorbs' into the body of the Jackal.

Eggman: "Awaken... Infinite!"

The body inside of the pod begins to react to the purple chemical that went into its body. Painfully, it seems.

Infinite: "U-Ugh... UGHHH!"

A bright purple light starts to omit from the body and blinds the others inside the laboratory.

Orbot and Cubot: "Ahhh!"

They gasp and hug each other tightly, petrified as to what's going on.

Infinite: "Grrr... GRRRRRAHHHHH!"

The Jackal flails its hands out aggressively and causes the glass from the pod its encased in to be shattered. Along with the glass from other nearby pods as well.

The freed being breathes heavily after destroying the pod and opens his eyes to examine his surroundings.

Infinite: "W-Where... Where am I?"

The male Jackal looks downward and for some odd reason, he sees himself floating in mid-air. This isn't a power he normally has.

Infinite: "What the!? How I am... Doing this?"

The confused creature looks up and spots the doctor along with his robotic pawns right in front of him.

Infinite: "Huh!? Who are you!?"

Eggman: "Gah! Now, now, calm down! You're perfectly safe here on my Egg Carrier. We don't mean you any harm!"

The doctor exclaimed, flailing his hands up and down as he attempts to comfort his reborn... 'Ally'.

Infinite holds his head, in slight pain from absorbing that liquid along with confusion as to what's currently happening and where he is.

Infinite: "Ngh... W-What happened? What am I doing here?"

Eggman: "Ah yes. You see... Infinite, your squadron of thieves were destroyed by the hands of those pesky nuisances that dare to call themselves 'heroes'. It's truly a shame what happened to your comrades."

He puts his hand down and inquires the name... Infinite. That's not a name he's familiar with.

Why would this strange old man call him such a weird name?

Infinite: "Infinite? T-That's not my name... It's-"

Before he could reveal his name, he pauses for a moment. His eyes widen and he immediately flies over to Eggman, grabs him by the neck, and hoists him in the air.

Even though the ability of flight is completely new to him, it almost seems... Natural to him at the moment. Despite the fact he's just obtained the ability.

Orbot and Cubot: "Boss!"

The two robots float over to their master but are too scared of the threatening Jackal to assist their creator.

Infinite: "What're you talking about!?"

The angered creature asks the pinned round man.

Eggman puts his hands around Infinite's arm to try and loosen his grip on him.

Eggman: "U-Ugh!"

Infinite: "Answer me!"

Eggman: "Ugh! W-What do you mean!?"

The newly named 'Infinite' tightens his grip on the mustached man.

Eggman: "O-Oh! You must be referring to the destruction of your squad!"

Infinite squeezes his neck again as he hears those words escape the Doctor's mouth.

Infinite: "Talk!"

Eggman, almost losing his breath, finally obliges his 'creation'.

Eggman: "Your squad was... Ugh! Destroyed by those pests I mentioned before!"

Infinite: "Pests? What pests? Who're you talking about!?"

Eggman: "Grah! They're mostly Hedgehogs! Ngh! You'll know who they are when you see them! Ugh! Trust me!"

Infinite: "Hmph!"

The angered black and white Jackal brings the red jacket wearing scientist face to face with himself. Doing his absolute best to intimidate him as he gets the answers he demands from him.

Infinite: "Why should I trust YOU? How do I know YOU'RE not the one that destroyed them!?"

Eggman: "Me!? Ugh! I'm the one that... Saved YOU... Ugh!"

Infinite's actually put back by his response. It's completely out of the blue.

Infinite: "... Saved me?"

The question-filled Jackal inquires, with confusion.

Eggman: "YES! You were... The only one that survived the attack! While you were laying on the ground... Desperately trying to stay alive, I brought you back here and revived you!"

His eyes widen as a bright purple light engulfs the roof, as he now begins to reminisce the exact moments the doctor's referring to...

* * *

A flashback from a couple of days ago appears before him, prior to his inevitable... 'Rebirth'.

* * *

?: "Ngh! Hm... Ok. I've finally reached the top of the structure and there appears to be nobody around. Everyone else doing alright?"

The scarred Jackal asks his fellow squad members, right after he finishes climbing up a grappling hook that's latched on-top of a very familiar piece of land.

? "Ugh! Yeah, we're doing fine! Man, it took forever to climb on-top of this island! I mean... Why is there even a floating island above the ocean anyway!?"

Another Jackal donning a green bandana questions, as his leader helps him climb onto the most epic yet peculiar island they've ever seen.

?: "Does that matter? We came to this island for one thing and one thing only, Razor. That is to-"

Razor: "Yeah, yeah, I know. Steal that big glowing rock thingy along with those smaller glowing rock thingies. I understood the plan, boss."

Razor's boss nods his head as he continues to help his fellow teammates climb atop their designated point of interest.

?: "With all due respect, this better be worth it, boss. I mean... This REALLY better be worth it for how long we've been climbing up this floating pile of mud. We're not even at the part we're supposed to be at yet!"

Another Jackal states, sporting a red beret on his head. As he reaches the surface, he kneels down alongside Razor and their leader to aid the others up. For some reason... He seems reluctant about aiding them.

Especially one in particular.

'Boss': "Be patient, Beret. The reason we're so far away from our objective is to avoid detection from the Echidna that resides here."

Razor looks towards his leader's direction and bears a befuddled expression on his face.

Initially, he thought this island was completely uninhabited and theres for the taking. Now it seems they may have some trouble awaiting them.

Razor: "Echidna? Who are you talking about, boss? I thought this rock was completely empty."

His boss shakes his head in a 'no' manner and looks up to his fellow Jackal comrade.

'Boss': "This island is inhabited by the one named Knuckles the Echidna. He is the sole guardian of the Master Emerald as well as the Chaos Emeralds. Which are the jewels we're after."

Beret rolls his eyes, not caring about the little history lesson from his commander. As long they're able to avoid or beat this so called 'Guardian of the Master Emerald' and get what they're looking for, that's all that matters.

The red hat-wearing Jackal along with Razor and their boss help the next person onto the floating mass.

?: "Knuckles the Echidna? Oh yeah, that guy. From what I've heard, he's a real tough nut to crack. He's one of Sonic the Hedgehog's friends and I'm pretty sure he's helped him save the world from all kinds of powerful things in the past."

A beige-wearing Jackal informs the other members while ascending onto the island.

Beret continues to ignore his allies' nonsense while Razor widens his eyes in surprise.

He was not aware of the Echidna's status in the world along with his strength that rival those of all-mighty beings. Plus, he's friends with Sonic the Hedgehog!? The fastest thing alive!? Now, that's a name that everybody knows, even the Jackal Squad.

'Boss': "That's right, Sting. It would be wise of us to steer clear of his path. His strength vastly outclasses all of our strength put together. One punch from him, and we may end up living on the Moon... If we're still in one piece."

Razor shivers at the thought of stumbling upon the guardian and enduring his rage.

What if the Echidna happens to be having one of the worst days of his life? Any poor intruder that dares to trespass on his island on such a bad day will be toast! He definitely didn't sign up for this crap... Even though he did.

? "You sure know a lot about that Echidna. As a matter of fact, how DO you know so much about all this?"

The only female of the group inquires, who's wearing a green shirt and brown pants with black spots.

The rest of them, except Beret, who has since walked away from the edge, assist her on-top of the island in the sky and afterwards, recall the hook from the grapple.

Their commander stores the climbing device away for safekeeping and responds to her question.

'Boss': "I've studied a lot about this island as well as the guardian prior to our arrival here, Jade. I did not want us showing up to this place without proper knowledge of what to expect when coming here. It would have been foolish and irresponsible."

Jade widens her right eye, a bit shocked of how tactical her leader is. That honor usual belongs to Sting, as he always studies his opposition and surroundings before engaging in combat.

As she dusts herself off after climbing atop the floating structure, her bow holding her hair together comes undone and drapes all over her face.

Jade: "Huh!? Ugh! I thought I tied this stupid thing tightly!"

She slicks her hair back, picks up her tie from the ground, and ties it back up.

Beret: "Heh! Having trouble there, Jade? Seems like you're in a pretty HAIRY situation right about now. Then again... When are you not?"

Jade looks at him like '😑' while the others moan and groan at the pain of the cringe.

Jade: "Wow, Beret. That's possibly the FuNnIeSt thing to ever come outta your mouth! Heh... And I thought your name and that stupid hat of yours were your only good jokes."

The roasted Jackal grits his teeth at his female accomplice and clutches his fists.

Beret: "WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

Before they could persist any further, their leader steps in between the both of them and sticks his hands out. Preventing them from getting physical with one another.

'Boss': "ENOUGH! And keep your voices down! Your bickering will only result in the failure of our mission! Keep it civil, so we can complete this without trouble."

The two irritated Jackals give each other dirty looks before turning their backs on each other and crossing their arms.

Jade and Beret have always had it out for each other, ever since the formation of the Jackal Squad.

Beret has always had something snarky to say whenever inconvenience falls upon someone else. Including his own teammates. Much to the dismay of Jade, who thinks of Beret as nothing but a nuisance to their group. He's even went as far as going personal with his snide remarks, especially towards her. Since she's the most intolerant of his presence.

'Boss': I will not tolerate anymore disrespectful comments toward one another from here on out. If I hear anything of the such from any of you, you will be sent back to base in the Mystic Jungle. Am I understood?"

Jade and Beret sigh and reluctantly nod to their commanding officer. Razor and Sting also nod in agreement, out of respect towards him.

Jade: "Please Beret... Say something stupid... So you can get your sorry butt sent back to base."

She whispers under her breath, unheard by the others.

'Boss': "Now then, there should be a large red mountain toward the center of the island. Anyone see it?"

They all look up to see a prominent red mountain with sparkly white snow protruding from the floating mass. It's off in the distance, but it's so tall that it's almost impossible NOT to spot.

Razor: "Yup. Looks like a large red mountain to me. Nothin' outta the ordinary or anything."

Razor responds, stating the obvious.

'Boss': "Good. Now, if I remember correctly, if we go through the sandy part of the island, past the garden of marbles, adjacent to the hill filled with mushrooms, through the caves of that large mountain, the altar holding the Master Emerald in place, along with the Chaos Emeralds, should be right in plain sight."

Sting: "Huh, that's pretty professionally mapped out. Sounds like something I'd say."

Sting's leader nods his head in regard of his comment.

'Boss': "I try, Sting. Normally I'd leave this up to you, but this is the most challenging theft we've ever committed. I wanted to make sure this mission was carefully planned out."

Beret grows impatient and starts moving around frantically.

Beret: "Enough jibber jabber, let's get this over with already!"

Their commander unsheathes a dark red sword from his back and holds it to his side. The others pull out their weapons as well, ranging from various different knives and blades.

They all get into a battle stance and await their command.

'Boss': "Alright then. Jackal Squad, prowl to victory!"

* * *

Authorz Note:

Prowl to victory? Bruh... Please. Stop.

Anyway, that's the end of chapter 1, Awaken... Infinite!

Here I just wanted to focus on the interactions between the members of Jackal Squad and how I wrote them. Since they didn't have an on-screen appearance in Sonic Forces, I wanted to give them some sort of a purpose to the story instead simply have them killed off-screen like in the game. Nothing too special yet, but we'll see if that changes in the next chapter!

Have any thoughts on this story so far? Let me know by leavin' a review and let me know what you liked and didn't like about dis joint! Along with things I can improve on in the future! As always, stay tuned and take care mah fellow readerz!

* * *

All character models used for the cover of this story belong to Nibroc-Rock.

Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters belong to Sega. This story was written solely for entertainment and I do not make a profit off it.


	2. Oh No

After setting foot on Angel Island and discussing about what their goal is on the floating mass, Infinite's memory then transitions halfway into their journey toward the shrine of the Master Emerald.

Right now, they're traversing past the Mushroom Hill instead going directly through it. Despite that, the trip is rather... Obscured at the moment. In a literal sense. For all of them.

Jade. "Ugh, these freakin' mushrooms! They keep falling over and getting in my face! I thought they were only adjacent to where we're headed!"

The female Jackal frustratedly inquires, annoyed at the inconvenient amount of mushrooms in her way. She slices and dices her way through them with her blades, determined to cut them all down.

'Boss': "They are, but that didn't mean we weren't going to run into a few on the way."

Jade: "A few!? They're freakin' everywhere! Gah!"

'Boss': "It certainly seems that way…"

The leader of the Jackal Squad responds, scouting their route ahead while the others follow closely behind.

He has to admit, he expected to come across some mushrooms while traversing past the Mushroom Hill, but not as many as they've come across so far. Many of them are gigantic, with most tilting over and getting in their way.

Beret: "Awww, what's the matter, Jade? This mission TOO tough for you? Maybe you oughta head back to base if you can't handle the pressure."

The hat-wearing thief smirks while the femme fatale desperately wants to tell him off. Instead, she chooses not to. Why? She's taking the smart route and allowing him to run his mouth. So he can get himself in trouble with their leader.

Beret: "I mean, this is no place for a fragile girl like you. You might break a nail or something."

Even though she's choosing to keep silent, she can't help but curse him out in her mind. Her right eye even twitches a bit, though luckily none can see that.

'Boss': "Beret..."

Beret's leader looks back and gives his fellow member a disappointed look.

'Boss': "I know I made myself clear about the comments... And I know you heard what I said."

Beret lets out a fake sigh and nods his head.

Beret: "Sorry about that, boss. Sometimes my mouth likes moving without me even saying anything. It's usually spitting facts whenever it does though. So at least there's a plus side to that"

Jade grits her teeth and tightly grips onto her blades.

'Boss': "Facts, Beret? Hmph. Stop belittling Jade, before I forcefully send you back to the Mystic Jungle. Do not annoy me any further."

Even though she's ready to tear Beret a new one, she respects her commander for sticking up for her. Even though she'd prefer to stick up for herself, it's nice to know that someone else thinks he's annoying.

Then again, they all probably think he's an irritating, waste of space. It's only common sense.

Razor: "S-So uhhh... Boss? How much further to that magic green rock?"

Razor inquires, growing antsy. They've been traveling for awhile now and they're getting tired traversing through the island's odd terrain.

'Boss': "Soon, Razor. Soon. If we keep up the pace, hopefully we'll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes."

Razor: "15 TO 20 MINUTES!? THAT COULD TAKE DAYS TO... Well actually, that's not that bad. I thought it'd take longer."

'Boss': "Heh. Don't get too excited, it's just an estimate. That's IF we keep this up."

Razor's boss affirms, while slashing down more mushrooms and other plants obstructing their way.

Sting: "If we manage that, hopefully we'll be back before midnight. It's already dark out."

The tactician states, looking up at the moon that's glistening in the sky.

'Boss': "Hopefully. But don't forget, we have the Echidna to deal with as well."

The Jackal Squad's leader reminds.

Razor: "Oh yeah... About that guy... If we run into him, what exactly are we going to do, boss?"

Razor asks, concerned about stumbling across the mighty guardian.

'Boss': "I'll explain in detail if we spot him. For now... We're going to do our best to avoid him. However, to put it bluntly. If we must fight him, we're going to ambush and subdue him as quickly as possible."

Sting: "Ambush and subdue him, huh? Then after that, do we-"

'Boss': "No! We do not terminate our opposition if we don't have to. We may be thieves, but we do have a code we follow."

Annoyed by that, the beret-wearing Jackal scoffs and looks away.

Beret: "Speak for yourself... 'Boss'."

The arrogant Jackal whispers, though it should've whispered at a lower volume. For his own sake...

'Boss': "What was that, Beret?"

His 'commander' asks him. At this point, his boss has stopped in place to look at his fellow Jackal.

Beret: "Huh? Oh nothing, boss. Don't worry about it."

His leader's eyelids lower in annoyance, as he approaches him.

'Boss': "It didn't sounded like... 'nothing'."

The others watch their boss confront the beret-wearing Jackal, as the tension between them grows... Pause.

Jade especially is enjoying this the most, as she prays that her leader gives him what he deserves... A good ol' as- uh, I mean butt whooping!

Beret: "Trust me boss, it was nothing important. Don't worry your pretty little scar about-UGH!"

All of a sudden, his 'leader' pushes him back into one of the mushrooms and pins him with his elbow. So he doesn't move. This shocks everyone in the Jackal Squad, including Beret himself.

'Boss': "You're pushing your luck, Beret! I told you not to annoy me and that's all you've been doing this entire journey!"

Beret puts his hands on his elbow, trying to remove it from his chest."

Beret: "U-Ugh! G-Get off me!"

Their commanding officer grits his teeth while the thief with the red hat is cornered against the fungus.

'Boss': "Give me ONE reason why I shouldn't send you back to base and be quick about it!"

Desperate to get out of his boss' grip, Beret comes up with a quick excuse for his question.

Beret: "Y-You know you need me. I-I'm one of the best attack dogs you got and... Y-You can't risk fighting that Echidna without me."

Out of nowhere, Jade scoffs at Beret's words and finally speaks her mind.

Jade: "That's complete bosh! We're still as strong if not STRONGER without this clown! All he does is ridicule us whenever he gets the chance and constantly gets in the way of everything! Send him back to base where we don't have to deal with his annoying self!"

The Jackal Squad commander looks away and takes the time to think about what he should do next.

On one hand, Beret has had his beneficial moments to the Jackal Squad. Whether it's by stealing whatever the group is after or taking care of whoever gets in their way.

On the other, Jade has truth to her words as well. Beret has put down his fellow brothers and sister constantly in the past and their boss' has had his fill of it.

Beret: "Come on, boss. I've done so much... F-For our crew! D-Don't do me like this! We've been allies for years now!"

Jade: "Tsk! More like enemies! Don't listen to him, he'll just be a liability!"

Beret: "L-Liability? N-No way! I'll prove... T-That I won't be... B-By being the first one to attack if needed! I promise, boss!"

Their leader closes his eyes and clutches his fist in both frustration and disappointment.

Even though he wants to side with his female companion, he must not jeopardize their mission. They need an extra hand just in case anything escalates.

'Boss': "Despite what I subconsciously want... I'm not risking the success of our mission. You can stay... BUT you better make good on your promise!"

Beret's captain removes his elbow, allowing him to let out a big gasp and breathe once again.

Beret: "Ugh... Got it. So, shall we continue?"

He asks, holding his chest. He's then given a nod along with another warning.

'Boss': "Screw this up, and I won't be sending you back to base. Oh no. Instead, I'll personally kick you out of the Jackal Squad myself. No second chances, no retribution, nothing."

This actually catches the red hat-wearing Jackal off-guard for a moment. He would kick out one his best fighters just for messing up ONE mission? To Beret... That's just insane.

Despite what he thinks about that, he returns the nod while laughing nervously. Not wanting to risk his status in the group.

Beret: "R-Roger that, boss. Won't happen again."

With that out of the way, he signals for his squad to continue in their journey to the Master Emerald. They follow him, but Beret takes a moment before persisting.

While they're not looking, he lets out a smirk and then continues on, slicing more mushrooms out of the way.

* * *

Infinite is now shown the final part of the memory, where his squadron finally reached the structure that's holding the Master Emerald. Intuitively knowing that this is where it all went wrong.

* * *

Leaping across pools of red-hot lava, hopping over shifting islands, and traversing through caves filled with unspeakable horrors, the squad eventually manage to past all major obstacles in their way and make it close to their objective. So close, in fact, one of them even spots something in the distance.

Sting: "Hey boss! I think I see something up ahead! Come take a look!"

The beige-clothed Jackal points out, as he kneels down next to a fallen pillar belonging to an ancient ruin nearby.

Striding closely behind Sting, the squad's leader kneels down beside his faithful tactician and observes the structure.

Beret: "About. Freaking. TIME! After trudging through sand, getting bombarded with abnormally sized mushrooms, nearly falling into red-hot vats of LAVA, and sneaking through freaky caves with ghosts and spiders, I've had about enough with this dump!"

Beret gets loudly shushed by his leader as he orders him and the rest of his squad to get down.

Jade: "Heh! At this point, you're just BEGGING to get thrown off this island! Didn't you HEAR what our leader said before? Or did his words fall on deaf ears? Honesty, I'm hoping it's the latter. It would be nice seeing you get launched straight into the sea, with no-one out there to help you."

The female jackal insinuates at a moderate volume, smirking after she finishes her sentence. Her fellow 'companion' clenches his teeth, wanting to do to her exactly what she hopes happens to him.

Beret: "I'd be careful if I were you, girly. Never know what could happen out here in the battlefield. There could be some... Unexpected Casualties."

He subtly threatens while also grinning at the thought of something bad happening to her.

Jade: "Yeah.. And you'd be the first casualty. Since you know, you ain't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. As you always claim to be."

Tired of her snarkiness and remarks, he hides his butcher knife behind his back as she momentarily looks away.

Beret: "So... You think I'd be the first to fall, huh Jade?"

He inquires under his breath. Without making any noise, he slowly moves up to her. With the edge of his blade now pointed at her back.

Beret: "That's not how history will tell the tale. Hehehehe."

Before he can perform a fatality, he grunts and stops himself as his leader begins to speak to the group.

Jade looks toward Beret with suspicion, who has since sheathed his knife, and then at their captain.

'Boss': "Jackal Squad, gather around! Sting and I have devised a plan that we'd like to elaborate to you all."

Razor, who has been daydreaming this whole time, moves past Jade and Beret and crouches up to the other two Jackals. While Jade and Beret give each other death glares before they reluctantly move forward and make a circle around everyone else.

'Boss': "Alright, so just up ahead is the shrine of the gems we're after."

The Jackal says, pointing in the direction of the shrine. Which not only holds the Master Emerald, but also the ancient Chaos Emeralds. Which are floating above pillars surrounding the bigger emerald. Except for one. Which is either missing or being used by someone at the moment.

Beret: "Heh! We have our work cut out for us, boss! That Echidna doesn't seem to be around, so I reckon we make a break for those rocks and-"

'Boss': "Let me finish, Beret. I am the leader of this squad, not you. Again, keep your voice down. That goes for the rest of you as well."

Beret: "... Sure thing... 'bOsS'."

The knife-wielding, beret-wearing thief says, in a mocking manner. His leader looks at him with an annoyed expression.

'Boss': "Hmph. As I was saying, Sting and I have come up with a plan to seize the Master Emerald and escape the island as quickly as possible. Even though it appears to be unguarded at the moment, there could be booby traps planted around the vicinity. So, we've decided to-"

Razor: "PFFT... Hehehe!"

'Boss': "... Yes, Razor?"

Razor: "Hehehe! Sorry boss, it's just what you said that's givin' me the giggles, that's all!"

'Boss': : "... And that would be?"

Razor: "Hehe... You said TRAPS! Hehehe!"

'Boss': "..."

Razor's disappointed commander facepalms at his fellow member's... Childishness. Razor is known to be immature at times, but this is just ridiculous. He may end being thrown into the ocean alongside Beret if he keeps this up.

'Boss': "(Sighs)... Sting, please explain the rest of the plot to the others while I rethink my life for a moment."

Sting nods his head in agreement while their boss continues face-palming himself. Continuously.

Sting: "Ok, so instead of simply walking up those steps leading to the big cheese, we're going to use our grappling gun's line to 'monkey bar' over to the shrine. So we can avoid any booby traps that could be planted in the ground."

Razor continues giggling as he hears that amusing word again.

'Boss': "Razor... Be quiet."

Wiping tears from his eyes and sighing from the laughter, Razor nods his head.

Sting: "So, once we're on the shrine, three of you will have to carry the big bad rock. While two others carry the little fruity pebbles."

Razor: "Aw, man! There's no way I'm carryin' that oversized grape! I call not it for carryin' that thing!"

'Boss': "... Razor... Please... Stop talking."

Razor: "I'm just sayin'!"

Jade chuckles to herself after overhearing the amusing banter between the two. Afterwards, she puts her hand on her chin and goes over the plan in her head.

Jade: "Huh. Not too shabby, I like it. Then afterwards, I'm assuming we attach the hook to edge of island and climb down back to land?"

Sting nods his head while their leader looks up at them after having a little moment to himself.

'Boss': "So, does everyone understand the plan?"

The group responds with 'yes', 'got it, boss', and 'TRAPS!". Much to his delight… and frustration.

'Boss': "Good. I guess. Now then, follow my lead."

Still crouched, they all follow their leader closer toward the shrine. Once close enough, he takes out the grappling gun and aims it at the top of the shrine. He fires it and the hook successfully attaches to the structure. Though it does causes the concrete to break a bit.

Jade: "Wow. I can't believe that worked on the first try. No reruns or anything. Nice work, boss."

'Boss': "You're telling me. I'm not even sure what it's attached to. The top of the shrine is mostly rounded."

Jade: "Huh... Yeah. Must be a glitch in the matrix or something."

Razor: "Yeah... Hey, do you guys hear that!?"

As Razor asks that questions, footsteps can be heard nearby.

Their leader whistles for them to stop what they're doing and they all hide behind trees and bushes nearby.

?: "I'm glad you guys are you here. I've been having these strange feelings recently, ever since the Master Emerald projected this weird jewel to me."

A new voice can be heard alongside even more footsteps. The sounds seem to be moving closer and closer to their position and they begin to grow concerned.

?: "Ha! Seems like that big rock has finally proposed to you, Knuckles! Did you say yes? Or is she not really your type?"

The red guardian grits his teeth and responds in an irritated manner.

Knuckles: "This isn't the time for jokes, Sonic! If it was, I'd be in a better mood now, wouldn't I?"

The blue blur nods his head and waves his hands in defense.

Sonic: "Right, Sorry. So, about that jewel you saw in the emerald. Ya think it could've been of any importance?"

The heart of the Jackal Squad's captain drops as soon he hears those two voices. Not only that, but one question still lingers in his mind. Who could those other footsteps belong to?

He takes a moment to analyze the situation and comes to a conclusion he hoped he wouldn't have to. Those other people must be the Echidna's… allies. This leads to the only proper response one could possibly have in a time like this.

'Boss': "Oh no..."

To be continued...

* * *

Authorz Note:

Have any thoughts about this story so far? Let me know by leavin' a review and tell me what you liked and didn't like about dis joint! Also point out any errors or improvements I can make to my talez!

Remember, If anybody's kind enough to follows my stories, favorite them, or leave a review, I will return the favor by giving you a shout-out at the beginning of the story! Only if you want to though!

As always, stay tuned and take care mah fellow readerz!

* * *

All character models used for the cover of this story belong to Nibroc-Rock.

Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters belong to Sega. This story was written solely for entertainment and I do not make a profit off it.


	3. A Battle of a Misunderstanding

Authorz Note:

I just want to say that I'm sorry for not uploading last Friday. I know I promised that I would be uploading every Friday of July but I have family over that arrived last Friday. I haven't seen in awhile so I wanted to spend time with them. Not only that, I also needed some more time to edit to this story as well. In fact, there's a big edit that I need to do, but I'll discuss more about that in the next chapter. Which you won't have to wait for! I'll be uploading the final two chapters today so you won't have to wait! How you like dem apples?

Anyway, read on mah peepz!

* * *

The Jackal Squad have just spotted the shrine of the Master Emerald. Alongside it is also the Chaos Emeralds. Instead of simply walking up to it, they're going to grapple onto it and shimmy their way toward it. However, their plan is put to a halt when footsteps and familiar voices are heard nearby.

Sonic: "So, about that jewel you saw in the emerald, think it could've been of any importance?"

The red echidna crosses his arms together.

Knuckles: "It has to be if the Master Emerald is telling me about it. Maybe it's trying to warn me of something. It would only make sense."

He says, as he and the hedgehog sit down on the steps leading to the massive gem. Following behind him are even more of his allies. Much to the Jackal Squad's dismay.

Razor: "Boss, you didn't say anything about his friends being here! You didn't say anything about SONIC THE HEDGEHOG being! What're we gonna do!?

Overwhelmed by his team's questioning and outnumbered by the heroes nearby, their leader attempts to come up with a quick plan to overcome the guardian's allies as well as the guardian himself.

'Boss': "Ok, ok! I've got a plan! So, there seems to be about seven or eight of them over there and there's five of us here. So, what I'm thinking is that-"

He's cut off as they hear more talking coming from their foes near the shrine.

?: "Interesting. Maybe it's foreshadowing something to come in the near future. Or even something from the past coming back to haunt us. We've haven't really had that many good experiences with time travel. Other than our younger selves coming back in time to help us out and whatnot."

A two tailed fox mentions, as he walks up next to his two friends.

?: "That's true, Tails. This all sounds pretty importantly. Me personally, I'm just thinking of how BEAUTIFUL that jewel is and how nice it would look in my collection. Would you mind asking that old gem to project that image again, Knuckles? ... Or better yet."

A female bat flies up to the shrine and lands on top of the Master Emerald. Rubbing it back and forth with her hand as she stares at it with lovey dovey eyes.

The echidna looks back at her and flails his fist in the air.

Knuckles: "Don't even think about it, Rouge! Neither of those jewels belong to you! They never will either!"

Rouge: "Hmph! You're no fun, knucklehead! You never are."

More people begin walking up to the group and join in on the conversation.

?: "While you're thinking of its beauty, I'm thinking of how much MONEY it could make the team! Sounds to me that I'll be able to pay off rent for the next couple of DECADES with something like that!"

A large crocodile says while a purple chameleon and yellow bee look on with disappointment. If the leader of the Jackal Squad's memory serves him correctly, they run a detective agency back on land.

Knuckles: "Can we get back on topic, Vector!? Rouge!? This is a serious affair! Something bad could be coming and we're just standing around doing acting like a bunch of buffons!"

The other investigators nod their heads in agreement and speak up against the ones going off topic.

?: "Vector, with all due respect, instead of coming up with money methods all the time, why don't we try and figure out a solution to the REAL problem? I don't suspect that the Master Emerald is showing off a random jewel just so we could sell it."

The ninja-like chameleon says. Simultaneously, the smallest member of the group flies up in the air and continues with his companion's point.

?: "Yeah! Even I know this is a serious matter and I don't do serious stuff! For now, we'll just have to think about what this is all means and come up with something... Uhhh... What's the word?"

The bumblebee puts his hand on his chin as he searches for the word he's looking for. After awhile, as he buzzes around the shrine, thinking , it finally springs into his head.

?: "Oh yeah! Reasonable! You know, for us to take into... Um... Consideration!"

Knowing that they should follow after the young one's words, the rest of them look at each other and nod their heads.

Vector: "Espio and Charmy are right. Though I really do have to pay off last month's notice soon. It's, uh, been a couple of weeks now and I don't want Team Chaotix being kicked out onto the streets."

Sighing with slight disappointment, Rouge also complies with her fellow allies, even though she really wants to get a better look at that gem. There's also something else on her mind she wants to mention before they get back on track.

Rouge: "If only the rest of Team Dark were here. Without all of us together, it feels kinda empty. I wonder where-"

?: "I'm right here, Rouge."

Another person states, as he walks up to the shrine. Feeling mischievous, she puts her hands on her face and sarcastically gasps.

Rouge: "Shadow! What a surprise to see you here! It wouldn't be a true adventure without the Ultimate Lifeform, now would it?"

She says, smirking. The black and red Hedgehog rolls his eyes at her playful mockery and crosses his arms.

Shadow: "It doesn't matter if I'm here or not. Without Omega, the team isn't truly complete. There's been something happening to him recently..."

The blue blur's right eye widens, curious as to what the other hedgehog means by that.

Sonic: "What's wrong with him? Has he been acting funny?"

He nods his heads.

Shadow: "He hasn't been functioning properly. Omega's systems were glitching out last time we were on a mission together. He has no control over his body when he's in that state."

Rouge: "Yeah. He blew up a parked tanker truck because of his guns going haywire. He's at G.U.N's HQ getting himself serviced by their technicians. I hope he'll be alright."

Shadow: "So do I..."

The Master Emerald's guardian begins fuming as he flails his hands out in anger.

Knuckles: "What did we JUST agree on!?"

Back to the Jackals, Sting crouches up to his leader and takes up a better position next to him.

Sting: "Boss, we better act now. These guys don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon."

Their commander nods his head. Luckily, none of them have noticed the grappling line attached to the top of the shrine. The Jackal Squad decide to take advantage of this situation and press onward.

'Boss': "I want you, Beret, and I to try and climb over there as fast as possible. While Jade and Razor keep watch of them."

Sting complies with him and lets Beret know of the plan as well. The captain of the squad jumps up, grabs onto the line, and shimmies over to the emerald. As quickly as he can without making too much noise. Sting does the same and follows closely to his boss. While Beret hesitates for a moment.

Beret: "Huh? Uh oh."

He silently whispers over to his fellow Jackals and informs them of what he sees.

Beret: "That dark hedgehog's coming over to you two. Try to get over there faster!"

They 'monkey-bar' over there as quickly as they can and eventually make it to the surface of the shrine. Right next to the Master Emerald.

Sting: "Boss! What about the batgirl?"

His boss' eyes widen, as he completely forgot that she was seated on top of their prize.

As he quickly tries to come up with to shoo her away, the black and red hedgehog walks up to the side of the shrine and notices something peculiar connected to it.

Shadow: "What's this?"

Curious, he jumps up, activating his rocket-shoes in the mid-air, and hovers up to the line. He takes a moment to examine it closely and then after awhile, he begins to trace it back to its source.

He follows the line over toward its' beginning. Which causes Beret to begin panicking while going over to alert the others.

Beret: "Shoot, shoot, shoot! He's walking over here!"

They attempt to take cover as the hedgehog nears closer to them. Covering themselves in bushes and dirt.

Shadow: "Hmmm..."

As he looks around for a bit, he doesn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Which is all and good for them. Until a voice behind him catches his attention.

'Boss' "Oh no!"

The tactician and his boss attempt to knock the batgirl off the gem by rocking it slightly forward. However, they accidentally push it too hard, causing the large gem to fall forward.

Rouge: "Huh!? What the!?"

She flies up out of the way just in time as it stumbles forward. She turns around and looks back at the gem.

Knuckles: "Rouge! WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Rouge: "ME!? Don't you DARE accuse me of anything! I was just sitting here until it just randomly tumbled forward! I wasn't even trying to steal it this time!"

Knuckles: "THAT'S NO EXCU- wait, really? Then what could've caused it to..."

The flying bat shrugs as she slowly flies over to the other side of the gem. However, something in peripheral vision catches her eye. As she looks to her left, she sees someone sneaking up to her fellow member of Team Dark.

She squints her eyes and sees someone else that she doesn't recognize. Whoever it is, they seem to have a sharpen weapon pointed toward the back of her friend's head. She gasps seriously this time and shouts out to him.

Rouge: "Huh? Shadow, look out!"

Confused, the chaos-filled being turns around and finds a blade dangerously close to his face.

Beret: "TASTE MY BLADE, PUNK!"

As he jumps up and attempts to stab him, Shadow quickly catches the blade and prevents it from impaling himself.

Shadow: "HMPH! I don't think so-GAH!"

After that, Beret head butts the hedgehog as fast as he can, causing them both to land back on the ground, and then makes a break toward the Master Emerald.

Beret: "JACKAL SQUAD! MOVE IN FOR THE KILL!"

He charges forward at Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles and tries slicing at them with his butcher knife.

Sonic: "Woah! Guys, look out!"

As quickly as he can, Sonic pushes Tails and Knuckles out of the way just before they're hit by their attacker's knife.

Jade: "BERET! YOU FREAKIN' MORON! AGH!"

She jumps up from behind her hiding position and goes after him, while Razor follows closely behind her.

Beret: "We're taking those glowing rocks whether you like it or not!"

With his knife to his side, he slices and dices at everybody else that stands in their way. Including Team Chaotix.

Vector: "Woah! Hey! Watch it there!"

He dashes back just in time, allowing the purple chameleon to jump over the crocodile and throw two shurikens at the Jackals.

Beret: "Woah! Nice try!"

Dodging out of the way just in time, he jumps onto Vector's large snout and attempts to stab the ninja in the chest.

Beret: "HAAA-UGH!"

Before he could do so, he's kicked backwards and lands straight onto the ground. Hard.

Vector: "Heh! Nice move, Espio!"

Espio: "No time for pleasantries. We must stop them before they slip away with the emeralds!"

Vector: "Right! Wait, I'm the one who's supposed to give here! Charmy! Fall back! Espio and I will handle this! It's too dangerous for you!"

Charmy: "Tsk! No chance! If I take on something as powerful as Metal Sonic when he transformed into that metal madness, I can sting the butts off of some wannabe thieves!"

Espio and Vector look at each other, almost forgetting about that event. Even though it was probably one of the most important moments of their lives.

Vector: "Well... Ok. You got me there. Stay clear of those blades though! They seem pretty dang good at using 'em!"

Charmy nods his head and goes after the other Jackals.

As Beret's laying on the ground, Jade and Razor run up to him and speak their mind to his face. Well, Jade does anyway.

Jade: "I'm about ready to throw you off this island! What were thinking!?"

Trying to assist him up, she's pushed back by the beret-wearing Jackal as he stands up by himself.

Beret: "I don't have to explain myself to you! Let's just fight these losers already!"

Beret leaps up at the Chaotix again and continues fighting them. While Jade and Razor head after the others.

* * *

Closer to the Master Emerald, Sting and his boss are forced into a fight with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Despite complete wanting the opposite.

* * *

'Boss': "Ugh! Listen, we don't want to hurt-GAH"

The Jackal Squad's captain is smacked a couple of times in the face by the Master Emerald's guardian just as he tries to defuse the situation.

Knuckles: "Don't even try to talk your way out of this! Move in for the kill!? Your leader's words are self-explanatory!"

Sonic and Tails fight Sting as his commanding officer continues to fight Knuckles. The hedgehog performs his 'Sonic Wind' ability on the tactician while the fox uses his two tails to smack him around.

Sting: "Leader!? That guy ain't our leader! Wait, WAIT-OOF!"

Sting is uppercutted up in the air so high, it takes awhile for him to land on the ground. Once he does, he feels great pain surging throughout his body. He tries to stand up, which hurts even more.

Sonic: "Back off, bud! You and your pals aren't getting your hands on that gem!"

Tails: "Yeah! And you aren't taking us down! Not while we work together!"

Tails uses his appendages to make Sting stumble backwards while Sonic uses a homing attack on him. Which launches the Jackal toward the edge of the island.

'Boss': "Hold on a minute! We're not trying to kill- AGH!"

The Echidna lands another krushing blow to the true leader of the Jackal's face. Which causes his head along with his body to be stuck within the ground.

Knuckles: "I've had enough of you, you thieving assassin! Hmph!"

He rips him out of the ground, swings him around the air a couple of times, and then launches him into Sting. Almost knocking both of them off the floating land.

* * *

With Team Dark and Jade and Razor. Who are fighting away from the shrine.

* * *

Rouge: "Hiyah! Take that, you thief!"

The flying bat says, kicking Jade in the stomach with her boots. The female Jackal twirls around a couple of times before holding onto herself in agony.

Rouge: "Oh... Wait. I'm kind of a hypocrite by saying that, huh?"

She looks up at the bat and grits her teeth, furiously.

Jade: "W-We weren't here... To kill you originally... B-But now!"

She jumps up, slices her blades at the bat a couple of times, and elbows her as hard as she can.

Jade: "I-I'm almost taking it into consideration!"

The other girl lands on the ground, holding her abdomen, and grits her teeth with her fangs exposed.

Rouge: "Ugh... B-Bring it, Jackie!"

Both filled with rage and pain, they lung at each other. Blades to kicks.

While the two females are duking it out, the Ultimate Lifeform and Razor are engaged in MORTAL KOMBAT. Even though the former is immortal. Well, if somebody's not trying to kill him.

I hope I don't get sued for saying that.

Razor: "Listen man, the dude with the red hat isn't our leader! I don't even know why he shouted that out! He's kinda loco, you know?"

He tries to explain. Shadow puts his fists up but then momentarily stops himself.

Shadow: "How do I know you're telling the truth? Why should I believe ANYTHING you say? Your motives seem straight forward to me."

The Jackal puts his pointing finger up and is about to answer his question. Until it curls back down when he begins to remember exactly why they're there. Which, while straight forward, would be pretty hard to explain without getting a butt-whooping.

Razor: "U-Uh... We... Heard those glowing rocks needed a good scrub down. Since they seem pretty dirty, we came here to... Offer our cleaning services to their guardian! Uh... Y-Yeah!"

Painfully unconvinced and slightly annoyed, Shadow gives him an irritated look toward the would-be thief.

Shadow: "Smooth answer..."

He responds. However, out of nowhere, the hedgehog finds himself thrown into the ground by another body hurtling at him. Grunting, he looks to his side and finds his partner in crime lying on the ground next to him.

Jade: "Your friends threw my friends into each, I figured I'd return the favor!"

The female Jackal announces, forming an 'X' with her blades.

Shadow assists Rouge back on her feet and they both get into a fighting stance.

Rouge: "Let's finish this!"

Shadow and Rouge skate/fly toward Razor and Jade. Who dash toward them. They make direct contact with each other but they all bounce off one another.

Shadow: "Ugh! Chaos Control!"

He teleports in front of the bandana-wearing Jackal, grabs his arm, and throws him into a tree nearby.

Razor: "Guh! G-Grrr!"

Regaining his senses after awhile, he unsheathes his green-colored blade and throws it toward Shadow.

Shadow: "Huh!"

The hedgehog ducks as the blade passes by. However, as he does so, the Jackal runs up to him and tackles him to the ground. Punching and kicking him as fast as he can.

Rouge: "Hmph! Now you're really screwed!"

The spy spins her body around and uses her 'Screw Kick' to crash into Jade and launch her backwards.

Jade: "Ngh! U-Ugh... W-What a lame... P-Pun."

Struggling to stand back up, she notices a large tree branch to her right. Which, luckily for her, is right in her grasp.

Jade: "Heh! I've got a little something for you, Batty!"

She grabs ahold of the branch, holding it like a baseball bat, aims it at Rouge, and smacks her right in the face. Causing her to get sent straight into a boulder behind her.

Razor: "Woah! Cool move, Jade-UGH!"

He's then knocked into the same boulder by Shadow as he complements his female partner.

The hedgehog turns his attention to the female jackal as she attempts to grab ahold of him. He moves back and grabs onto her left arm. Before she attack him.

Shadow: "Enough of this. Cease your attack and I'll let you go."

Ignoring him, she regains control of her arm and roundhouse kicks him in the back of his head. As he's sent back, he stops himself by activating the rockets from his shoes.

Jade: "I would've taken that advice if your friends didn't start attacking MY friends! As much as I much as I want to, I'm not stopping any time soon!"

She sticks her blades to her sides and charges toward him.

Shadow: "... Don't say I didn't show mercy. What happens next, is on you"

The ultimate life-form skates forward, charging up his chaos-energy while she forms another 'X' with her blades.

Despite them not wanting it to persist any farther, the battle goes on from here.

To be continued.

* * *

All character models used for the cover of this story belong to Nibroc-Rock.

Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters belong to Sega. This story was written solely for entertainment and I do not make a profit off it.


	4. Unjustifiably Disbanded

Authorz Note:

So yeah, that big edit that I mentioned in the last chapter was... Well. I'm going to be reformatting this story in the near future. I've gotten constructive criticism letting me know about the way I've been writing my stories and I want to abide by the rules. So, this story along with my next tales will have the proper format. No more names before dialogue or anything like that. So yeah... That's all I had to say. Straight and to the point. There will be more info on that in the second notez if you want to read that.

Anway, you can finish off this story now!

* * *

Nearing the end of the battle, the Jackal Squad's leader manages to grab ahold of the Master Emerald's guardian and swing him the other way. Causing him to stumble forward.

Knuckles: "Ugh... AGH!"

The echidna smacks off the shrine and unintentional walks straight into the jackal's fists.

'Boss': "Hm!"

He smacks him straight in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

Tails: "Knuckles! Hmph!"

The two-tailed fox flies up to his sword-wielding foe and hits him with his tail attack again.

The commander falls on one knee temporarily but then quickly stands up, grabs onto the fox's tails and swings him into another direction.

Sonic: "Sonic Wind!"

A blue tornado then suddenly hits the Jackal, causing him to lift up into the air while also getting smacked around by the whirlwind.

Sonic: "Nobody hurts my friends while I'm around! Give up before this gets ugly!"

The blue cyclone disappears and the Jackal's boss lands face first on the ground. He stands himself on his knees but is too injured to stand himself up.

'Boss': "N-Ngh... I didn't want any of this... To happen. I-I'm only... Defending myself. I'm not trying to kill... Anybody."

Sonic: "Yeah? Then why did your boss order you guys to move in and kill us? Seems to me like you guys have pretty lethal intentions in mind!

'Boss': "H-He's NOT... Our leader! I-I am!"

The blue blur is put off by his response.

Sonic: "Wait... If he's not your leader, then why would he command you guys to attack us?"

He shrugs his sore shoulders and looks up at him.

'Boss': "Because he's an arrogant-"

Before he could finish his sentence, three more bodies are thrown in his direction, causing all five of the jackals to slide over toward the edge and nearly skid off the island.

Jackal Squad: "U-Ugh..."

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the rest of them walk over and surround the injured Jackal Squad. However, before anything can persist further, Sonic stands in between them and puts his hands out.

Sonic: "Woah, woah, hold on guys! Let's think about this for a second. I think there's been a misunderstanding."

Everyone except Sonic and Shadow blatantly disagree and grunt in annoyance.

Vector: "You heard what that one guy said! If that wasn't the case, they wouldn't have attacked us!"

Knuckles: "They're here for the emeralds! That's no misunderstanding. They wanted to get rid of us so that no-one could stop them from getting their grubby hands on them!"

Rouge: "Yeah! I mean, who would do such a thing!? That's just plain rude. Not to mention, disgraceful."

They all look at her in a 'real, bruh?' kind of way. She laughs nervously and looks away for a moment.

Rouge: "Oh... R-Right."

The leader of the squad finally finds the energy to stand up and verbally defend himself and his allies.

'Boss': "H-He's right. We WERE here to take the Chaos Emeralds along with the Master Emerald. I'm not denying that. But we didn't come here to harm anyone! We only retaliated because we were getting attacked by you all!"

Knuckes: "Yeah... BECAUSE YOU ATTACKED US FIRST, REMEMBER!?"

'Boss': "No, not me. He did!"

While holding his stomach with his right hand, he uses his left hand to point at Beret. Who's lying down on his back after getting pummeled by the Chaotix.

'Boss': "He was the one that commanded the others to attack. However, he is NOT our leader. That would be ME. I specifically ordered my squad to not terminate anybody!"

All of the heroes look at each in shock after what they've heard. While they still trespassed on Angel Island in an attempt to steal the emeralds, they are quite surprised at their true leader's honesty. It's also the first for a leader of a thieving squad to display so much morality. It's all... So peculiar.

They all ponder what they should do with them next. Even though thievery is inexcusable, especially thievery of such important gems...

*CoughCoughRougeCoughCough*

... Their commander seems to be telling the truth. If he's lying, then he's VERY good at doing so.

'Boss': "Just let us go and we'll leave this island in peace. I promise you all that much."

Their leader asks of them, with dignity.

Despite disliking the thought of letting these thieves roam around to steal other things, the guardian reluctantly forgives them of their crimes. Only because of their admittance to their crime. If it wasn't for that, they'd be bruised and busted all over. Even more than they are there.

Knuckles: "(Sighs)... Alright. Get off my island. Before I change my mind."

Their leader respectfully nods his head and goes over to assist his fellow companions back on their feet.

Shadow: "... Hm?"

Shadow ears perk up, as he hears something loud behind him. Curious, he turns around to see what's causing that strange noise. He spots something fast headed straight toward him.

Shadow: "What!? AGH!"

In the blink of an eye, his whole body is shot with a beam of purple energy. He screams in pain as the energy surges throughout him.

Everyone looks over in his direction and gasp in horror.

Rouge: "Shadow!"

As he continues getting struck by the beam, his eyes begin to glow a bright purple and an extremely angry expression grows on his face. An expression... Of malicious intentions.

Shadow: "G-GRRRRRRR!"

Furious, he looks over to group of thieves and grits his teeth. Activating his rocket shoes, he hovers up and lifts his arms.

Sonic: "Shadow!? What're you doing!? STOP!"

The Jackal Squad's leader watches as the black and red hedgehog spawns thousands of spears in the air and aims them at his team.

'Boss: "What!? N-No! Don't!"

He steps in front of his team and shields himself from the threatening being.

Shadow: "C-CHAOS... SPEAR!"

Firing the spears at the squad, their leader closes his eyes as they make direct contact with their targets and causes the part of the island they were standing on to collapse.

'Boss': "A-AHHHH!"

He along with his squad begin falling down toward the ocean. Grass, dirt, and other debris also come tumbling down along with them.

Opening his eyes, he desperately tries to find something to grab onto. He looks all around himself.

'Boss' "Nooooo!"

The Jackal doesn't see anything he can grip onto. Starting to lose hope in their survival, he begins closing his eyes again. Ready to accept his fate.

Until-

Sonic: "Ngh! I gotcha!"

Feeling his hand being held onto, he opens his eyes to find the blue hedgehog trying to assist him.

Sonic: "I'm gonna try to reel you back up! Hold on tight!"

The blue blur, with all his strength, pulls him back up onto land. Just before he could plummet down.

'Boss': "T-Thanks. Wait... MY SQUAD!"

Sting and Jade: "B-Boss! Help!"

Managing to grab onto to pieces of the island that were not blown up, the two call out to their captain for assist. Sonic and he kneel down over the ledge to try and save them.

They grab onto to the Jackals and pull them up with using the remainder of their energy. They're almost able to bring them back onto land. So close, in fact, their feet nearly touch the surface.

Jade: "P-Please... D-Don't let us go."

Sonic: "Don't worry, you're pretty much s-GAH!"

All of sudden, the blue hedgehog is struck by someone charging at him from the front, causing him to fly backwards into a tree. Also losing grip of Sting in the process. His attacker reveals himself and floats up to the Jackal's leader.

Shadow: "U-UGH... R-RU... R-RU-"

'Boss': "Please! Don't this! We mean you no harm!"

Shadow: "I-I... CAN'T... CON- GRAHHHHHH!"

The black and red hedgehog charges up his buffed chaos energy, intending to use it on the jackals once more.

Shadow: "CHAOS... S-SPEAR!"

As he almost succeeds in pulling Jade up, more incoming spears hit both Jade and her leader. Causing him to lose grip of her and also launching him backwards.

Jackal Squad: "AHHHHHHHH!"

The remaining Jackal can only listen to the screams of terror from his squadron ... As they fall straight into the ocean.

'Boss': "N-No... No... No..."

As he lays on the ground, heavily wounded and unable to defend himself any longer, he eyes slowly close. Before they do, he spots the shoes of the energy-filled hedgehog landing on the ground. After staring at them for a bit, he loses eyelids completely shut and he loses consciousness.

* * *

Returning to reality, after the newly named Infinite recalls that... Painful memory, he drops Doctor Eggman onto the hard ground. After tightly holding onto him throughout the duration of the negative memory.

* * *

The deceiving doctor gasps for air as he holds onto his neck. Which has scars from his 'creation's' gloves.

Orbot and Cubot: "Boss!"

The red and yellow androids rush over to their creator, concerned for his well being.

Orbot: "Are you alright?"

Cubot: "Got any boo-boos you need kissed?"

Orbot looks at his idiotic companion like '😑'.

Cubot: "... What?"

Eggman stands up and brushes himself off.

Eggman: "I'm fine..."

He looks up at Infinite, who floats down to his level.

Infinite: "Jade... Razor... Sting... Beret... They're all gone?"

Eggman: "I am terribly sorry, Infinite. Your squadron was unjustifiable... Disbanded."

Infinite: "That blue hedgehog tried to help me... But then he was blasted away by that other one. Why would-?"

Eggman: "Help you!? Did you not see what happened!? Sure, he grabbed onto your friend's hand to seemingly try and assist him, but it was all a clever trick! As he was trying to pull him back onto land, he began taunting your friend!"

Infinite: "Taunting him? I heard no such-"

Eggman: "Did you HEAR the last thing he utter to him?"

Infinite: "N-Not clearly. It's all fussy to me now. It was like that even while we were watching all that."

He responds, shutting his eyes and putting his hand on his head to try and sooth a headache he has. Eggman grins evilly and takes advantage of this situation.

Eggman: "Oh, I remember it clear as day. What he said was..."

The doctor clears his throat and tries his best to imitate Sonic the Hedgehog's voice.

Eggman: "dOnT wOrRy, yOu'Re PrEtTy mUcH SCREWED! Referring to their predicament at the time. Then afterwards, Shadow decided that the so called 'fastest thing alive' had enough time teasing your friend, so he blasted him away with his Chaos Spear! Just so he could have some time to mock YOU! How dare that fiend!"

The jackal opens his eyes and looks back him.

Infinite: "So... You mean to tell me that... The blue hedgehog never had any intentions of helping me?"

The doctor wipes away his grin and shakes his head.

Infinite: "... W-What about his friends? Maybe they-"

Eggman: "They simply stood there and watched while your team was plummeting toward the ocean! They made no attempt to try and help you or your companions. As I said earlier... They dare to call themselves 'heroes'."

Infinite looks down for a moment. Reminiscing the whole thing through his head again. Though everything is still not clear to him, one thing seems to be persistently true.

The fact that Sonic the Hedgehog's friends did absolutely NOTHING to aid the Jackal Squad.

Even though they've made peace with one another, they still turned their backs on the squad and left them to perish. It seems that even the blue blur's intentions were not true after all. He, the other hedgehog, and perhaps even their allies only wanted to bask in the glory of betraying the group. That's why they left them to die.

Are their 'hero' personas a way to conceal their true motives? So that they can stab the ones they save or befriend in the back? It only makes sense to the Jackal. Not complete sense, but it seems very plausible. Judging by what happened to his... squadron.

Infinite: "They... They took away the only people that mattered to me in life! My only family! And then they tried to take me as well! Even after I offered to leave the island in peace!?"

Eggman: "That's what it looked like when I... U-Uh... arrived to save you!"

Infinite: "Those... Those wretched, treacherous rats! When I find them, I'll tear them apart! Limb from-"

In his peripheral vision, he notices a purple light flashing. He looks down and notices a purple jewel, glowing on his chest.

Infinite: "What? What is this?"

He inquires while touching it.

Eggman: "That is a mystical gem of great power I found deep in the ruins of Angel... Or an island quite a bit away from here . It's known as... The Phantom Ruby. That's how you're able to float by the way."

Infinite: "... A gem of great power?"

After examining it for a bit, he looks back at the pod he escaped from. Which is still shattered. He then looks back at the Doctor.

Infinite: "What exactly did you do to me?"

Eggman: "I gave you the ultimate upgrade, Infinite. A power with... Infinite possibilities, if you will."

Infinite looks down at the gem again, curious.

Infinite: "Hmph. How do I use this power you speak of?"

Eggman: "Allow me to demonstrate for you. Orbot! Cubot! Front and center!"

The floating robots respond to their command, but are still terrified of Infinite.

Eggman: "You see these two dimwitted robots in front of you?"

Cubot: "Hey! What're you talking about!? I'm not a robot!"

Looks down at his reflection off one of the pods.

Cubot: "OH MY G-"

Eggman and Orbot shake their heads in disappointment. Especially Eggman.

Eggman: "See if you can... Replicate them. With all their traits and abilities."

Infinite: "... Replicate them with their traits and abilities? How do I do that!?"

Eggman: "Subconsciously, I would assume. Try it!"

He stares at Orbot and Cubot for awhile.

Infinite: "Hm..."

While closing his eyes, he tries to test his new power.

Infinite: "... Ugh! I... Ngh!"

Eggman: "Calm down and stay focused! The jewel should know what you're trying to do. It will guide you."

Infinite: "Ngh!"

He struggles to take ahold of his new power and use it to his advantage.

Infinite: "Grrr... Wait!"

He clutches both of his fists.

Infinite: "I feel it... I feel it's power!"

He points the palm of hand at Orbot and Cubot.

Infinite: "Yes! It's accepting me as it's vessel! I'm tapped into it!"

Eggman: "Excellent! Now fire away!"

Infinite: "Hmph!"

Suddenly, eerie red cubes form behind the robots, which eventually form into... The same robots behind them.

Both Orbot and Cubot: "Woahhhhh!"

They float over to their duplicates and take a closer look at them.

Cubot: "Who's this fine lookin' bot right here? He kinda looks familiar."

Both of their replicas have blank looks on their faces.

Orbot: "Um... They don't exactly look... Normal."

Cubot: "Huh? What're you talking-WOAH!"

All of a sudden, Cubot's replica grabs him by the arm and swing him across the floor. Aggressively.

Cubot: "Ah! Gah! Ugh, my lugnuts!"

Orbot: "Buddy! Hold on-AH!"

Orbot's duplicate grabs onto him and does the same thing.

Orbot: "Ugh! Aaah! Guh!"

After a good 5 minutes, their duplicates throw their scrapped husks toward Eggman and Infinite.

Cubot: "Ugh... The saying ain't true. Two heads aren't better than one. The other head will just beat you up."

Orbot: "Yeah... Ow... My processors."

The doctor is genuinely surprised at the results.

Eggman: "Wow. I didn't know they had it in them. Huh."

Infinite looks at his hand afterwards.

Infinite: "Hm... An ability like that would be useful."

He turns his attention toward Eggman, who flails his hands up.

Eggman: "Indeed! And that's only one example of what you can do with it! According to my sources, the gem is capable of creating virtual realities! Meaning you can create any type of simulated world you want at will!"

Infinite: "Hm. Could I make a... Hazardous simulation if I wanted to?"

Eggman: "Of course! I wouldn't be surprised if there's even more you can do with it! Like I said before, the power you have contains infinite possibilities. The ruby should help you with your quest in destroying Sonic and his rodent friends!"

Infinite: "Hmph. I appreciate this-"

Eggman: "Dr. Ivo Robotnik. But those pests call me... Eggman."

Infinite: "Alright. Eggman..."

The power-wielding Jackal floats up and crosses his arms.

Infinite: "It seems like we have common enemies. With two of them being hedgehogs."

Eggman: "And also bats, cats, crocodiles, chameleons, bees, etc, etc. You get the gist of it."

Infinite: "Hmph. Even so, I still question why I should spare your life."

Eggman: "WHAT!? But I saved YOUR life! And outfitted you with unstoppable powers!"

Infinite: "Hmph. I might not know you well, but I AM familiar with your past transgressions, Doctor. I don't believe that everything you've told me is truthful. Also, did you think I would dismiss the fact that you'd try to enslave me just to eliminate those wretches? And maybe even use me as your puppet for future missions? Being imprisoned in a pod is a dead giveaway..."

Eggman looks at the pod, scratching his mustache. Nervously.

Eggman: "E-Err... Well uh-"

Infinite: "Not to mention, I've never been particularly fond of... Humans."

Eggman: "Hm... Well... Without me, not only would you not know the location of them, but you would lack the proper assistance to terminate those vermin!"

Infinite: "Assistance? Hmph. With this power, I do not need assistance. You'd just be a liability"

Eggman: "But... Is that something you really want to risk?"

Infinite: "Hm?"

Eggman: "I mean, it's not like I have an IQ of 300 or anything. With knowledge such as mine, I could help give you the edge you need to ensure the destruction of those vile cretins!"

After contemplating the idea in his head for a bit, he nods his head his in agreement.

Infinite: "Very well. Perhaps you are more useful to me alive. Now then, tell me where they are, so I can avenge my brethren."

Eggman: "Hold on. Before we get started."

He takes out a silver, pointed mask, with a black lighting bolt on the right side of its' face.

Eggman: "Wear this. I created it specifically to correlate with the Phantom Ruby. It should help strengthen your link with the jewel and its' abilities."

Infinite looks at it for awhile and then decides to put it on for the reason mentioned before.

Infinite: "Yes..."

Purple lights surge throughout his body while also modifying the sound of his voice.

Infinite: "The murderers of me and my family will know that my power... Is Infinite."

Eggman smirks evilly and turns away for a moment.

Eggman: "Thank you, hyper-go-on energy... And most importantly, to you... Mr. Ultimate Lifeform."

He whispers, unheard by Infinite. He turns around and clasps his hands in excitement.

Eggman: "Now we're speaking the same language! Hehehe... Hehehehe... OHOHOHOHOHO!"

The end... ?

* * *

Authorz Note:

So there you go guyz! For now, this seems to be the end of 'the Rebirth of the Deceived'.

Overall, I'm honestly not that impressed as to how it turned out. Now realizing that the format I've been using doesn't really flow that well, it kind of makes me disappointed with the whole thing. I also believe that I rushed too many scenes and in doing so, robbed them of any emotions. I don't think it's complete garbage but it definitely needs a LOT of tweaking here. Eh, can't say I didn't try. Well, you can but… Yeah.

As I said before, my next story along with my future ones will be written using the proper format of telling a story and it should help engage youz in the story a lot better. Also, just to reiterate, I will be reformatting this story as well. Not for a while but it will happen. As a bonus, I'll also by throwing another chapter to this story. Yes, using the correct format. I hope you'll look forward to that joint!

Anywayz, as always, I hope you at least found SOME entertainment while reading this story and I hope that my next story will be a much better improvement over this one! What will my next story be about? Even heard of an old Nickelodeon show called Invader Zim? If you have, cool! If not, well, don't worry. I'll be explaining who everyone is and what purposes they serve and what not. Look up the show if you want more details on what it's all about! I'm warning you though, itz kinda weird.

If you have any thoughts about this story, let me know by leaving a review and tell me what you liked, didn't like, and what I can improve upon in the future! Remember, If anybody's kind enough to follow my stories, favorite them, or leave a review, I will return the favor by giving you a shout-out at the beginning of the story! Only if you want to though! You can let me know if you don't want one!

As always, stay tuned and take care mah fellow readerz!

* * *

All character models used for the cover of this story belong to Nibroc-Rock

Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters belong to Sega. This story was written solely for entertainment and I do not make a profit off it.


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